


Always the Martyr

by BrokenFaith (idolator)



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Au Ra Raen (Final Fantasy XIV), Au Ra Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Bottom Solus zos Galvus | Emet-Selch, Complete, F/M, Garleans (Final Fantasy XIV), Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Hades and Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Mentioned Scions of the Seventh Dawn (Final Fantasy XIV), Minor Zenos yae Galvus/Warrior of Light, One Shot, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Sassy Emet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:00:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25957126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idolator/pseuds/BrokenFaith
Summary: "Remember us. Remember that we once lived."The Warrior of Light's heart is weighed heavy with the memories of what came before, and what could have been.
Relationships: Solus zos Galvus | Emet-Selch/Warrior of Light
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fan fiction I've uploaded publicly. Please let me know if you enjoy it, I crave validation. MAJOR spoilers for the 5.0 Shadowbringers MSQ! This story takes place between 5.1 and 5.2, but there shouldn't be any spoilers for those patches.

My name is Persephone, and I am the Warrior of Light. 

Yet my heart falls deeper and deeper into darkness.

Let me start at the beginning. Summoned to save a world not of my own with my fellow scions, I took up the mantle of warrior of darkness and fought to return night to Norvrandt. It was my duty as Hydaelyn’s chosen to fix Her mistakes, and I thought nothing of it. Not until I met him.

Solus van Galvus. Emet-Selch. A sardonic man with a streak in his hair. I initially found his presence disconcerting. He was my enemy, after all. I don’t remember when that changed. When he stopped being an unwanted tag along, to a friend. I suppose it wasn’t that strange that I grew fond of him - my journey has taught me to look past politics, titles and alliances to see the person behind them. Even my greatest enemy, Zenos yae Galvus, had much in common with me. If, perhaps, he had given me a chance to befriend him, things would have ended differently.

Emet-Selch did just that - gave me a chance to get to know him. I’m eternally grateful for that. Because under the spiked layers he had built around himself, he was a good man pursuing a noble goal. A goal I could relate to. 

But it ended in tragedy, yet again. A certain someone had been bitter, perhaps angry I wouldn’t reciprocate his feelings. He manipulated events behind the scenes, and forced me to go far beyond my limits without disclosing the truth of what it would do to me. He betrayed my trust, and because of his actions, fate cruelly pitted me and Emet-Selch against each other for one final battle, of which I was the victor.

I feel no happiness from his defeat, just a nagging emptiness. 

“Remember us. Remember that we once lived.”

A solemn plea that I promised to uphold. Yet the more I think about it, the more I realize me and him are the same. Because I would give up this broken, cruel world in a heartbeat if it meant bringing him back. 

Which brings us to now.

“Persephone, you haven’t been sleeping.” Y’shtola said, concerned. “You have dark circles under your eyes. You almost look like…” She cuts herself off, sorrow crossing her face. She, after all, owed her life to Emet-Selch after he pulled her from the lifestream.

“It’s ok. You can say his name.” I say.

“You’re right… It’s just…” Y’shtola looked around, and leaned in to whisper. “A certain cat man dislikes us saying his name. In fact, he forbade Crystarium residents from learning about Ascians or Amaurot.”

“What?” Anger ran through me. How could he! Emet-Selch died because of him, and now he was trying to bury his last request. 

“He says it’ll give the people bad ideas.” Y’shtola said.

“Yeah, like critical thinking.” I replied, not hiding the annoyance in my tone.

“Mine lady,” Urianger cut in. “perhaps thou would payest thy exarch a visit? Perchance he mighth listen to thy pleas moreso than we lowly few. Theest are the only person he cares for.”

“You’re right.” I sigh. “I shall visit him.”

“Dressed like that?” Thancred says with a smirk. I blush, realizing I was in my nightclothes.

“You’re right, I’ll change first. Thank you for reminding me.”

I go to my room at the pendants and change my outfit. I enjoy fashion deeply, although because of how slight my frame is it can be difficult to find clothes that fit properly. In Eorzea, there are not that many hats designed specifically for Au Ra horns, but thankfully in the Crystarium there are enough Au Ra that most hats work for us. 

I dress quickly. I wear my favorite pair of boots and tights. They fit me surprisingly well despite being designed for machine lifeforms. I pair it with a draped top in the dalmascan style. I quickly check myself out in the mirror. Despite being a Raen Au Ra, I have very little scales. Perhaps because of them not protecting me from the sun and me being incredibly pale, I burn very easily. So I apply a thin layer of sunscreen, although the white cream only makes me look more ghostly.

I walked towards the Crystal Tower, which towered over me. I was glad I didn’t have to walk all the way up it again, especially because my boots have very high heels. I walk up the stairs and ask the man to let me in, which he does.

I walk into the Ocular. It’s a beautiful room… I’m reminded of when Emet-Selch was standing here, and goosebumps appear on my exposed arms. 

“Cold?” A voice says, and I jump.

“Excarch, you scared me!” I say.

“It’s great to see you, old friend.” He smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. I bristle at the term of familiarity. “Why are you here, in my chambers?” He says.

“Because you are suppressing the truth. Why can’t people talk about ascians.” I say.

“Oh, Persephone surely you of all people know that some things people are safer not knowing. For their own protection….”

“Fuck that!” I say, and he is so shocked by my cussing he drops the basket of sandwiches he was preparing. “Like I was safer not knowing you had let me poison myself until I would die? Like how you forced my friends to lie to me so I’d propagate your agenda!?”

“Now, now, calm down. You know that was for the best. I care so much about you. Surely you can see that?” He says, hands up in a show of concrition. 

“NO!!!” I scream. “You’re so manipulative! Emet-Selch and I may not have been on the same page always, but at least he was honest! You hide behind honeyed words and noble sentiments but you don’t care about me outside of my use for you.” 

“Can’t you see that I’m in love with you?” The Exarch said, angry that I wasn’t being respectful.

“You don’t love me! You love the idea of me!” I say.

“Well, if that’s how you feel… I understand.” The Exarch said, looking defeated. “I will let people speak freely. You are my dear friend, and I’m so sorry you feel this way.”

“Thank you. I don’t want us to be at odds, Exarch. We can just be friends.” I say, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

“You’re right. If it’s no trouble, would you sit with me and eat? I feel like we need to have a real conversation.” Exarch said, picking up the basket of sandwiches.

We sat down together and although I’m still angry, I’m glad the Exarch listened. I bite into one of the sandwiches, and it tastes a little strange. I think nothing of it, because the Exarch is awful at cooking, but then my vision blurs.

“A freak accident brought on by residual aether poisoning…” The Exarch says calmly, smiling. “You’ve served your purpose. It’s sad.. You truly were special to me.”

“You… tricked me..” I say, collapsing to the floor as my limbs grow stiff.

“It wasn’t the first time.” He says, smirking.

My vision fades to black. Nothing but darkness. Comforting darkness. A figure emerges from the shadows - no, the shadows form the figure. Darkness personified. I gaze up, in awe.

“Bet you thought you saw the last of me.” Emet-Selch says.

I rush to hug him, but realize I still can’t control my body.

“Oh, apologies.” He clicks his fingers and I can move again. I reach him and I kiss him on his face, where the lips normally are. 

“You’re really here..” I say.

“Yes… I am. I never left.” He holds me gently. “Like Ardbert, you have carried me within you this entire time. Because you and I… our bond never breaks. No matter how many millions of years pass, my love for you never dimmed.”

“Millions of years..?”

“You, even in your inferior sundered form, are still her. My Persephone. I will restore you from your malformed body, but first I must find a body.” I shake my head.

“I will give you my body.” I say unthinkingly.

“No! How can you help me fix the world if I inhibit your body? Instead, I shall take the body of one weak of mind, and of heart.”

He looks across the darkness, and The Crystal Exarch’s image appears. In one swift motion, Emet-Selch rubberbands his body out of the void and into the Crystal Exarch’s chest. He screams in agony.

I realize I am on the ground again, so I get up. When I stand up, I see the Exarch standing there. But there is something different about him. His eyes have changed. 

“Emet!” I cry, and leap to hug him. Tears flow down my face.

“Call me Hades, my love. Well, actually,” He adds sassily “Call me the Crystal Exarch. If people realized who I really was immediately, it would be bad for you. So I shall pretend to be him. It shan’t be my first time pretending to be a leader of inferior races, after all.”

I smile. “You’re right. You have plenty of experience as Solus van Galvus, and you did a pretty good job there. You built up the Garlean empire single handedly.”

“Yes, I was very good at it.” He smirked, and it was strange seeing the Exarch making Emet-Selch’s expressions. “You know, if I had wanted, I’m sure I could have led the Garlean empire to subjugate the entirety of Eorzea. That wouldn’t have provided enough conflict to invite the calamities, though.” 

“Well, I disagree with the Garlean Empire but I think that because it was for a good cause, I can forgive all of the genocide.” I say, ponderingly. “Just promise me you’ll stop that now.”

“Well, hang on. I only need to do one or two more and then we can fix the world and return things to how it should be. I’ve already done so many, it seems silly to stop now when the end is in sight.”

“Well… I guess.” It didn’t sit well with me, but he was right. “It does seem kind of stupid to stop now when we can bring amaurot back with only a few hundred thousand or so deaths. Plus, you have suffered for so long… you deserve this.”

He smiles at me. “Even though you are incomplete, your brain is still a tenth as smart as it was before, my love.”

Suddenly, I get an echo headache. 

I am sitting at my computer, on twitter. I tweet about how Emet-Selch is totally such a bratty bottom. One of my followers, Zenossexdoll, replies saying that they are just a hole. I nod, before word searching for Emet-Selch. I scroll through fan art until I find what I’m looking for - someone complaining that he looks greasy.

“Shut the fuck up <3 No one gives a shit” I reply. A notification pops up. Someone responded to me, calling Emet-Selch a fascist. Fury echoes through me as I write my reply about how even though he canonically created a fascist state and enjoyed oppressing people who he considered biologically inferior to him with the end goal of genocide to bring back “pure”, unsundered beings, he was sad sometimes. Also that I can separate fiction from reality, which is why I have a framed Emet-Selch picture on my wall that I only sometimes masturbate to.

My followers see my epic clap-back and make fun of the person’s FFXIV character, and they go private. I win, as I always do. I look at my Emet-Selch picture, framed next to my Severus Snape pin up and my human Bill Cipher fan art. Someone on my timeline draws Zenos in an Ahegao hoodie. All is well.


	2. Emet-Selch's Torment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going to do another chapter, but I felt so overcome with emotion reading the new tales from the shadows I just had to update. Please enjoy.

On the dying gasp  
A smirking godless ruins  
out of devotion  
Dark tragically Hades  
A stabbed unkind woman  
whilst watching the love  
Very cold mortal  
A sexy Au Ra gazes  
enjoying the 2b  
See the falling of man,  
I think he's angry at the sun.  
He finds it hard to see the gun,  
Overshadowed by the neve'ly den.  
Who is shattering near dying gasp?  
I think she'd like to eat the handclasp.  
She is but a fo'c'sly girl,  
Admired as she sits upon a squirrel.  
Her sly smileis just a curtain,  
It needs no gas, it runs on girton.  
She's not alone she brings a sum,  
a pet sin eater, and lots of john donne.  
The sin eater likes to chase a play,  
Especially one that's in the dossier.  
The man shudders at the murderous stage  
He want to leave but she wants the vacuum gauge.  
Emet-Selch couldn't stop thinking about the hope  
It was just so proud and fleeting  
But he could never forget the misanthrope  
That morning, Emet-Selch was shocked by the heliotrope  
He had to calm himself with an overeating  
Emet-Selch couldn't stop thinking about the hope  
Later, Emet-Selch was spooked by a microscope  
He tried to focus on a seating  
But he could never forget the misanthrope  
Persephone tried to distract him with antelope  
Said it was time to start thinking about a beating  
Emet-Selch couldn't stop thinking about the Hope  
Emet-Selch took action like a slope  
The hope was becoming too repeating  
But he could never forget the misanthrope  
Emet-Selch nosedived like a dying mope  
His mind turned into a heating  
Emet-Selch couldn't stop thinking about the hope  
But he could never forget the misanthrope

Thanks to Datamuse, whose word engine was used t


End file.
